Veteran TV personality Geraldo Rivera is facing intense backlash online after publicly questioning why Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents wear masks during enforcement actions.
“Cops do not wear masks. They deal with the most dangerous elements in society. Why do ICE agents wear masks? What are they hiding?” Rivera posted Monday night to X. He doubled down moments later: “Judges don’t wear masks. Sheriffs don’t wear masks. Marshals don’t wear masks. FBI agents don’t wear masks. Court officers don’t wear masks. Cops don’t wear masks. Only ICE agents.”
Rivera’s remarks sparked swift backlash from law enforcement supporters, military veterans, and everyday users, who slammed the longtime liberal commentator for overlooking the real dangers ICE agents encounter during operations.
“You know nothing about law enforcement families and their risks,” one user replied. Another, a former Dallas-area officer with nearly three decades of experience, wrote: “I like you, but just like with Al Capone’s vault, you embarrass yourself here.” Others pointed out that tactical teams across numerous agencies—from the FBI to the ATF—have routinely worn masks in high-risk operations to protect their identities and ensure their safety.
“Judges don’t, sure. Sheriff’s tactical teams do, FBI and ATF has since the 1980s,” one user explained, referencing federal agents’ response to Waco in the ’90s. “It’s easy to look this stuff up.” Other users took a harsher tone. “And you know this,” one user snapped. “So f*** off.”
The debate over mask-wearing by ICE agents is nothing new. In cities like Los Angeles and Hartford, agents have recently been seen wearing face coverings and working in plain clothes while making arrests from unmarked vehicles—a tactic that has drawn sharp criticism from immigration activists and Democratic lawmakers, who argue it undermines public trust and transparency.
ICE officials, however, are pushing back forcefully. Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons has previously resisted changing the agency’s mask policy, citing concerns about agents being doxxed.
“We ran an operation where ICE officers were doxxed,” Lyons said last month. “People are out there taking photos of the names and their faces and posting them online with death threats to their family and themselves, so I’m sorry if people are offended by them wearing masks but I’m not going to let my officers and agents go out there and put their lives on the line and their family on the line because people don’t like what immigration enforcement is.”